Category Archives: Condor

Air Transat will start operating for Condor in November 2018 on two routes from Frankfurt with an Airbus A330-200. The Frankfurt – Punta Cana route will start on November 5, 2018 followed by Frankfurt – Varadero the following day per Airline Route.

Previously on October 2, 2017, Transat A.T. inc. and Thomas Cook Group Airlines announced the signing of a seven-year agreement for the exchange of aircraft on a seasonal basis. Under the terms of the agreement, Thomas Cook will make available every winter to Air Transat a number of narrow body Airbus A321s and will receive at least one wide-body Airbus A330-200 in return. This will enable both companies to manage and utilize their fleets more efficiently.

The agreement takes advantage of the different seasonality of the two companies: Air Transat uses a greater number of smaller aircraft in winter to serve its destinations in the Caribbean, Mexico and Florida, and larger aircraft in summer to serve the transatlantic market. In contrast, Thomas Cook uses smaller aircraft in summertime to fly to destinations around the Mediterranean Sea and larger wide-body aircraft in the winter to fly to the long-haul destinations like Cuba and the Dominican Republic.

Condor Flugdienst (Frankfurt) is adding new twice-weekly Boeing 767-300 service from FRA to Santo Domingo and continuing to Quito, Ecuador starting on October 5, 2018.

As previously reported, Condor has also announced it will be returning to New Orleans and will be operating twice-weekly flights operating on Thursdays and Sundays from May 17, 2018, through September 30, 2018, between Frankfurt and New Orleans.

Flights on Thursdays and Sundays will depart New Orleans at 5:55 p.m. and arrive in Frankfurt the next day at 10:40 a.m., and depart Frankfurt at 11:50 a.m. on Thursdays and Sundays and arrive in New Orleans at 3:55 p.m. the same day.

Condor Flugdienst (Frankfurt) has announced in the summer of 2016 it will be flying between Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS) and Frankfurt International Airport (FRA). The seasonal flights are scheduled to operate on Mondays and Thursdays from June 27, 2016 through September 1, 2016. Austin is the third addition to Condor’s network in the United States within one year after launching nonstop service between Providence (PVD) and Portland (PDX) to Frankfurt, Germany this summer.

Flights are scheduled to depart Austin at 7:55 p.m. (1955) and arrive in Frankfurt at 1:10 p.m. (1310) the following day. Flights are scheduled to depart Frankfurt at 1:25 p.m. (1325) and arrive in Austin at 5:55 p.m. (1755), all times local. Flights will operate on Condor’s Boeing 767-300 ER aircraft with 259 seats (18 Business/35 Premium Class/206 Economy).

On an annual basis, 7 million passengers fly with Condor to around 75 destinations in Europe, Asia, Africa and America.

Since 2013, the German airline Condor is part of the Thomas Cook Group Airlines to which the Thomas Cook Airlines UK, Thomas Cook Airlines Belgium and Thomas Cook Airlines Scandinavia also belong.

Thomas Cook, the world’s oldest travel group, is considering selling its airline arm, Thomas Cook Group, as it continues to recover from its near-collapse in 2011.

According to the Independent, the company, which can trace its roots back to 1841 when Thomas Cook arranged for 500 people to travel between Leicester and Loughborough for a shilling, has reportedly sounded out potential buyers for the airline group. These are believed to include rival carriers and private equity investors, although no talks are currently taking place.

The holiday giant found itself under a mountain of debt in 2011 but has since axed jobs and shut high-street shops.

“We are always open for opportunities, which might include partnering with other partners/airlines,” it said in a statement.

However, it added: “We are very pleased with the development of our airlines. We have refurbished the cabins of our long-haul fleet and added long-haul aircraft to our Condor fleet in Germany and the UK. We see our airlines as an important part of our business.”

Thomas Cook AG currently has 88 active aircraft in it’s fleet, spanning 4 airlines: Thomas Cook Airlines (UK) (29) (Manchester), Thomas Cook Airlines Belgium (3) (Brussels), Thomas Cook Airlines Scandinavia (14) (Copenhagen-Oslo-Stockholm) and Condor Flugdienst (42) (Frankfurt), making it the 11th largest airline operator in Europe, and has ordered 25 new Airbus A321s (above) to replace older aircraft. However such moves could affect the order as well as result in airlines being shutting down or being rebranded.

The airline has refuted the conjecture in the UK media according to ch-aviation.

Could this be the end for the Thomas Cook we’ve come to know for so many years? Watch this space.

In other news, for the upcoming winter 2015/2016 Condor is adding flights to Rio de Janeiro. Rio de Janeiro (GIG) in Brazil, will be served by two weekly flights from Frankfurt, departing on Mondays and Fridays. Condor is also developing its schedule from Munich, with Holguin (HOG) in Cuba as a new addition to the current Caribbean program. Several other flights are being offered in the winter season in addition to those of Mauritius (MRU), Cancun (CUN) in Mexico and Varadero (VRA) in Cuba.

Video: Germany’s holiday airline surprised its guests on board a flight from the Maldives back to cold Germany with homemade cookies on board.

Top Photo and Below: Condor. 170 guests, ages 1 through 84, get ready to board their special flight over Saxony in Airbus A320-212 D-AICC (msn 809).